Eliza Lowe and the Founding of Woodard Schools for Girls

Penny Thompson is a retired teacher living in north Liverpool. She taught Religious Education in comprehensive schools in Sefton for many years. She is the author of Whatever Happened to Religious Education, published by Lutterworth in 2004. She has been involved with 3 other books on RE, most recently with Marius Felderhof with whom she co-edited Teaching Virtue, Bloomsbury, 2014. She was a pupil of the School of S. Mary and S. Anne from 1959-1966 and is a Circle Secretary of the Guild. She is married and their daughter Ursula attended the school between 1990 and 1997.

In its detailed account of the life of one of the great pioneers of education for girls in the nineteenthcentury, this is an engaging and insightful read. Penny Thompson, a beneficiary of the legacy ofNathaniel Woodard and Eliza Lowe, offers far more, though. She demonstrates powerfully how debates and achievements of the past resonate with contemporary concerns. It's a project I wholeheartedly commend.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsForeword by Canon Brendan CloverIntroductionPart One: Putting the Story in Context1. The Woodard Schools and Their Founder2. Girls’ Education in the Nineteenth CenturyPart Two: The Story of Eliza Lowe3. Early Life of Eliza Lowe4. Eliza’s School in Bootle and Seaforth5. The Langton Connection6. The Lucy Landor Reminiscences7. Mayfield – Eliza Lowe’s School in Southgate8. Alice Rathbone and Eva Müller9. Mayfield after Eliza and S. Winifred’s10. Eliza’s Letters11. Eliza Lowe and the founding of S. Anne’s SchoolPart Three: The Relevance Today12. Of More than Passing Interest?BibliographyCredits and PermissionsIndex